Food Safety Conundrum: Third-Party Audits

In its role of supplementing government inspections, third-party food safety audits of farms and food processors are supposed to serve as a defense against outbreaks of foodborne illness. And they often do. But when they don’t, the results can be catastrophic, raising questions about how the food safety auditing system should be improved.

The latest example of an audit that allegedly failed to flag unsanitary conditions linked to an outbreak occurred last year at Jensen Fa